How to improve mood? Study touts green exercise

From usatoday.com, an article on mood enhancers = exercise.

How to improve mood? Study touts green exercise

By Eileen Blass, USA TODAY

A simple, free way to boost mental health is to exercise outdoors, whether walking, gardening or cycling, concludes a recent study on "green" exercise.

"Every green environment improved both self-esteem and mood," even urban parks, says the study by Jo Barton and Jules Pretty of the United Kingdom's University of Essex. Places with water gave an extra lift.

As little as five minutes of "green" exercise -- activity in the presence of nature -- benefited all types of people, according to the researchers, who analyzed data on 1,252 people from ten prior British studies. Their findings appear in the American Chemical Society's Environmental Science & Technology journal. They report:

Both men and women had similar improvements in self-esteem after green exercise...For self-esteem, the greatest change was in the youngest, with diminishing effects with age. For mood, the least change was in the young and old. The mentally ill had one of the greatest self-esteem improvements.

Ann Pietrangelo, a writer who battles multiple sclerosis, offers these tips on the Care2 website for getting outside every day:

·       Take a walk or ride a bike in the park.

·       Lacking a park, take a walk or ride a bike outdoors on a tree-lined street. (If you live near a body of water, lucky you — don't waste the opportunity!)

·       Start a small garden in your yard.

·       Create a simple stretching routine that you can do outside on your deck or patio.

·       If you work in an indoor environment, try to get outside during lunchtime for some walking or stretching.

·       Play outside with your children, or with the pets.

·       If you exercise indoors, bring the outside in, with plenty of plant life or an indoor garden, or position yourself in front of a window with a pleasant view.